2.8
Quality4.0
Difficulty40%
Would Retake91
Reviews40%
Would Retake
91
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
22
4
11
3
11
2
16
1
31
What Students Say
“He never seemed prepared”
PS123 - 3.0 rating“As long as you work for it you will succeed”
POSC017 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
98%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.03 avg changeRatings by Course
POSC108
4.8
(4)POSC169
3.9
(7)POS125
3.7
(3)POSC123
3.6
(5)POSC125
3.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
posc157
4.7
POSC130
4.6
POSC017
4.4
POS125
4.3
POSC015
4.1
Reviews (91)
Assigns lots of papers. Usually every 2 weeks. However he even assigns one due the day of the midterm and then one due the day of the final.
He never seemed prepared. Asks many questions but rarely remembered to provide the answers. Unrealistic in the timing of his assignments and time to complete exams successfully. Wouldn't recommend him. Stressful and felt like I taught myself out of books.
Honestly, he is a really nice guy but he is all over the place when it comes to his lectures. He seems like he has never lectured before and is really unclear when he gives assignments. It's hard to stay focus during his lectures because he bounces around everywhere and will go on tangents.
Not too bad, this class will need you to attend lecture just to get the history down. Without it, it will be alot of work to figure out what he wanted you to grasp. Theres a paper due every 2 weeks, roughly 5 pages long. But overall, that sums up your grade, there are quizzes after papers are due, and a sign in sheet.
Great Professor, very much liked his grading system, logging in your attendance will help boost your grade, gave only 3 papers with plenty of time to complete, 1 midterm, and the best part is that there is no final exam for this class. Overall, Professor Busacca gave informative lectures, he knows what he's talking about compared to other UCR profs
Three required book readings and three essays. If you read the text and do well on the essays then its a rather easy course.
3 books and 3 papers and one the same week as the midterm. In lieu of the final was that last paper. Makes you buy a subscription to TopHat for quiz and attendance purposes. Professor was very nice but you have got to read if you are going to keep u with him in lecture. Read Read Read. Not bad to look at making time spent there more enjoyable.
If you want to pass attend lecture, take good notes, do the assigned readings, and study for those pop quizzes! You cannot skip a lecture without failing a pop quiz! Also, assignments are worth a good portion of your grade so make sure you do the readings if you want to get a good grade. Good thing about the course was that there wasn't a final.
The class was pretty easy in my opinion. I barley even tried. He does use all three textbooks that he assigns, but his lectures are based of the books, so you can pretty much get an idea of what you are suppose to read. The three essays he assigns are based of the main idea of each book and a section of your chose, usually out of theones he assign
Professor Busacca is a great professor with a clear style of teaching. He is great at answering the questions of students. Attendance matters (uses Course Key which tracks attendance). Good class for discussions with an open environment.
The midterm this quarter was crazy hard. The study guide was lengthy and most of it wasn't on the midterm. The average was about a 67! And he barely curved it. We did have one paper, though. The final is cumulative, which is terrible bc we read 3 thick, dense books. He knows the class is hard and purposely keeps it hard. I think he is a sadist.
HE IS TERRIBLE! Trust me and dont take this class!! He assigns three thick books and makes you purchase this 25$ platform where he tracks your attendance using gps location. His lectures are all over the place. DIFFICULT MIDTERM AND FINAL. I probably failed but lets hope not. Just dont take this class, save yourself.
Whole class is based around the 3 books he assigns-- must read in order to do decent in the class. Pop quizzes about readings in lecture that count for 10% of your grade. Extremely boring lectures. Content is self-teachable and easy to understand, just skim the books. Releases study guide for midterm and final. Must put in work to pass.
Somewhat unorganized, jumps around a lot during lecture. Good news is there's clear grading criteria but you MUST do the reading. If you don't you will fail every test and essay in the class. He's knowledgeable and clearly passionate on the topic, I would just prefer he focused his lectures a little more rather than jumping around so much.
He teaches a lower division course and he knows it. His texts are a bore and his methods in teaching are erratic and leave you with questions you don't know you need to ask. His essay prompts are hard just for the sake of confusing his students. In a 5 page paper his prompt has 6 different questions being asked. Wish I had space to right more.
As a first year political science major I can say it was the hardest class I have ever taken. Its important to note that I am only a first year and this was a lower division course. That being said I find Professor Busacca's class extremely important in the development of a political science major. As long as you work for it you will succeed.
He had us read 4 books this quarter, but the exams and essays are pretty easy to do even if you skim the books. Go to lectures! They provide a better understanding for the books. His midterms and final exams typically include multiple choice, several FRQs, and an essay question.
I really liked the lecture style of Prof. Busacca. Tries to introduce class to new ideas. Gives good feedback on paper. Reading the assigned books are important, particularly for essays and quizzes. You won't pass class if you don't show up, particularly because he gives pop quizzes throughout the quarter.
Ridiculously difficult just for the sake of being difficult
Busacca used to have a lot more required readings for classes but has eased up due to feedback. Attendance matters, he tracks it via apps like Square Cap or Course Key. Attendance is also important for pop quizzes. Overall, he is a great professor and I would have to say probably my favorite professor in the poli sci department.
Literally just do the readings and you will pass the class.
We read 4 books this quarter. We had to read 50 or more pages each night from each book. The final was a group project. There was a midterm. Also, a paper that is based on one of the books. Most nights,I didn't get sleep because of all the reading. There was a mini quiz at the end of every class. There is another paper that is apart of the project.
One of my favorite professors in the political science department. As long as you do the readings, the class should be a breeze.
This professor has lectures with only pictures. He writes on a smart board type of thing but his handwriting is illegible. He goes on to fast that there isn't enough time to write down notes even if your typing on your computer. His notes are all over the place as he goes back to a topic discussed 5 minutes earlier. Don't take this class.
One of the toughest professors around, but completely worth it. Class consisted of 4 books, essays on 3 of them, exam on the other one. He is a very tough grader, office hours are a must! He will provide helpful feedback that's worth a whole letter grade. Attendance is tracked so show up. Don't take his class if you aren't prepared for a challenge.
His teaching style is all over the place. He'll start with a slide that only has pictures, then move to handwritten notes which he projects on an elmo, then start writing on the whiteboard and he'll continue to go back and forth between the three all throughout lecture. Super confusing. Took the class again with Kim Dionne and she was 10x better.
Out of all the courses Ive ever taken here at UCR Busacca was the one that assigned the most reading. No, Im not talking about 40 pgs... Im talking about up to 100 pages before the next class. I had his course Mon/Wed/Fri so it was pretty intense. You also cant miss class because he gives a quiz each class.
Don't take the class if it's online; he can't handle a classroom on Zoom. Tons of reading, slides with no words (and often only half-done), and no assignments aside from midterm and final. Exams are long and exhausting (focuses on readings a lot). Speeds thru lecture to have time for q's, but most q's will be about what he sped thru. DON'T TAKE HIM
One of the most spiteful professors I've ever encountered at UCR. Lectures are full of tangential points/jokes that only random history buffs could appreciate, and barely have any structure. Exams are ridiculous (Midterm was MC, short answer, AND a take-home essay. What is this, an AP exam?) Few days left of quarter, have an A-, but srsly avoid him
brooooo DONT GET ME STARTED ON THIS MAN, dont expect a clear lecture, dont expect a concise lecture, 60 percent is pretty much useless and you basically need to teach yourself, i tried to do that but he puts things that just are not even relevant, would not recommend would not take again and definitely will not speak to him again
I agree with the other assessments, he is very friendly but he is very tangential and I have ADHD and I have a hard time following him. He averages about 75-100 pages per week his quizes are very specific so you must do the readings. His midterm was basically a full term paper, also his readings are very boring. He is likeable but not worth taking
Do not bother taking this trash professor, he is unreasonable when it comes to giving deadlines, he doesn't care if his students are facing burnout. Also, his essays tend to have VERY long prompt questions which makes it hard to write for. He gives 3 fairly difficult papers with basically graduate level readings and he's not all that likable. A
Three papers, 8 pages each. and you can expect to be graded poorly on them. No forgiveness with this professor, and the T.A? there is none. Worst class i have taken at UCR in all 4 years. Thank god its over
Professor Busacca is nice, yet his course is demanding. It often felt like the level of work I had to deliver was that of a graduate student. I recommend taking only if you are passionate about the subject. Also, if you take his course, ask him to look over your papers when offered. It can be the a difference between an entire letter grade.
I took him in the spring and very first day he tells the class we will have around 200 pages a week to read and our weekly quizzes were on the readings. I am not lying or exaggerating, he honestly told us that the reading are a lot but should feel a little lucky because this is the reduced version of his reading schedule. Crazy amount, do not take
If you hate yourself, this is the class for you. He all of a sudden said the grade weight wasn't right A WEEK BEFORE THE FINAL and dropped everyone's grades last minute. Nothing was in order, you will NEVER catch up with reading. Just don't do it. Matter a fact, report him. I will never take a class he teaches ever again. Like I said DO NOT DO IT!
If you're a transfer student I highly suggest you skip him. Insane amounts of reading, lecture notes are unhelpful, and LOTS of essay writing + quizzes. 1 midterm (8-10 pgs), 2nd essay (7-9 pgs) and 3rd essay (idk yet but probably a lot). Only take him if you can't avoid it. Learn more from readings than from actually attending class.
He was so bad I want to give him a 0. But thats not possible so I give him a 1.
In the years I have been at UCR I have NEVER rated a professor. Busacca is my exception. The class is horrible. His course work is time consuming and unnecessary. Makes you pay for an app to check your attendance. His tests and essays are both long and make no sense. When most students didn't finish midterm early he blamed us (80% of class).
Professor Busacca is the toughest political science professor at UCR. His quizzes make people feel crazy. It is very hard to look for the answers by scanning the books. You must deeply and carefully read every words in the books. In addition, his papers are so hard to answer.
What else can I say besides what has already been stated by everyone else here? Busacca is a harsh grader as someone who typically scores high in college level English courses. Not only that but he holds a very biased view against certain subjects in his course so good luck if you don't want to hear the same topic for 3 months straight. JUST DONT.
Busacca is honestly a good professor. His classes do consist of a lot of reading but it's pretty manageable. Attendance does count as part of your grade so beware of attendance quizzes. People do complain about him but he's honestly not bad. He's understanding with deadlines and when you have grading questions. Manage your time and you'll be fine.
If you read attend class and put the effort in you will pass. Professor Busacca is great, take his class it will definitely benefit you!
Great professor. Do not let the amount of reading intimidate you- it is manageable. If you do not have time to finish every book, skim through and understand the main concept from each chapter. Essays are based off book/lectures, so take good notes and apply them to the book. He cares, and takes the concerns of the class into consideration
First, the most recent positive reviews for this professor smell like plants. There's no way anyone could in all seriousness give him a positive rating unless they are masochists! From start to finish it was an unpleasant experience! If you can avoid this professor I strongly recommend it! This professor shouldn't be anywhere near a lecture hall.
The professor is very open and flexible with lecture, attendance is mandatory, he writes notes as a group with the class. His class was 3 papers in total with weekly quizzes it was super easy to get feedback from papers and get advice on how to do better in class, take the class its super informational and easy going!
Lectures were great he is passionate about political science! He does take attendance for participation. There was a midterm and two more papers through the quarter with weekly quizzes. The reading was manageable, great professor overall :)
Great professor and great lectures. Tons of reading and heavy on writing assignments.
I checked his rating on here prior to taking his class and was prepared for the worst. He addressed the heavy reading comments he had received and said he had worked on cutting it down. Overall, his lectures were interesting, the books assigned weren't boring, and he is accessible for weekly office hours. 3 books, 3 papers, attendance quizzes.
I came here expecting a war zone, so these reviews aren't too bad. He can be infuriating at times, but I find him more like-able than not. He has a great personality and his classes are always interesting. His classes on terrorism and the pacific rim are excellent. He's not hard to look at either.
I think this professor is a nice guy, but his lectures are dense, unstructured, and generally confusing. Most of the learning ends up being with your TA.
You will not pass this class. The average testing average in my class was an F and even then with the curve it was a D. I recommend you take this class with a different professor in the future if possible.
Honestly, I hate to say this, but this was the worst class I have ever taken in my college career. I am sorry but the instructor is just awful. This was not an introductory class, he taught it like the highest upper-division. Please do yourself a favor and avoid it at all costs!
This professor is really difficult. He doesn't give clear information about what he wants from you. The essays are hit or miss on whether he will grade you a decent score on it. Some essays I thought I answered thoroughly he still gave me a bad grade. Attend every lecture to get a good attendance grade.
I'm a POSC major. Yes, this course is challenging, and not even my preferred area of POSC, (I took it for major credit), but it was manageable. You just need to allocate enough time to reading and planning out papers. Reading is essential to do well. Professor Busacca is very nice, and lectures are always very extensive and clarify the books well.
I really enjoyed the class. The reading was interesting. Skim the book if you don't have time. Essays are based on lecture and books. Professor is very approachable and willing to help with questions about the essays.
Took Professor Busacca every quarter of my JR and SR year. He challenges his students but is a great lecturer who makes the topic interesting. He is much better in his upper-division courses than in lower, but both are great. ASK FOR HELP ON PAPERS! He is happy to help during office hours and clarifies what he is looking for to earn an A.
The work load can be daunting, but I have learned so much through Prof. Busacca's classes. I have taken three poli sci classes with him and have never really had an issue with his quizzes or essays. His classes are all interesting and he's always willing to help!
I am currently a student in his World Politics class. Weekly quizzes, reading assigned, 2 papers throughout the whole course, and attendance is mandatory. Coming to this site before taking his class I was nervous since there was so many bad reviews. But he is genuinely a good teacher and he is super nice and funny. I would take his class again.
Busacca is extremely unorganized when it comes to his lectures. He tends to miss class a lot, putting his students behind in lectures but ahead on readings which becomes SO confusing. when you ask him questions, he answers around them. honestly, would recommend taking classes w another prof if you're able to, disappointed
His lectures are extremely unorganized, we're constantly behind. He goes off topic & expects you to know events with no context. If you actually read, GOOD LUCK. It's about 80 pages a week. Quiz average is usually 60-70% even though its open note. No midterms, just two essays which was nice. He's really smart but I feel disconnected from class.
Classes were usually boring and not very engaging. There were weekly quizzes, two essays, and a final exam. Lots of readings because each essay and the final was based on information from different books. The class is mostly self-taught because no one pays attention in the lectures - the information is overwhelming and often not interesting.
If you like world politics and have prior knowledge, this class is going to be much more easier for you. Lectures are long and often disorganized which can be confusing but you could honestly teach yourself the content from the books. I enjoyed the class because I'm a poli sci major but I would understand why others wouldn't.
Literally changed my major because of this professor. Had so many tests and quizzes that were more difficult than they should've been for an introductory class. Required two books and a textbook for the class as well. I wouldn't recommend this class to my worst enemy.
go to lectures. they will save you on the quizzes. he yaps a lot during the lectures and its usually nonsense and political mumbo jumbo but you will save yourself on the final if you take good notes on the slides. however, the final was literally a bunch of stuff we never learned so it got curved hard so you should be fine if you have a brain
If you take good notes and actually do the reading every week, you should be okay. He goes off topic (too many tangents...) during lectures and they aren't really helpful/really disorganized. Honestly doesn't really feel like an introductory course. Good person, but a bad professor. Try to switch out if you can.
He is generally a nice person but he has flaws with his teaching. His prompts/instructions are vague and confusing. He goes on nonconstructive tangents way too often. The final exam was badly structured. The class isn't inherently too hard but be sure to be on game.
Professor Busacca is very knowledgeable about the topic. Though, he assigns ALOT of reading and the 2 5-page papers he assigns are based off the reading. However, if you enjoy or have prior knowledge about this topic, then this professor isn't that bad and you might enjoy it. If you don't or only taking this for breadth, then uh good luck lol.
Nice guy and smart BUT... I WOULD NOT TAKE AGAIN. offers one extension and excused absence, but unstructured lectures, talks a lot, makes attendance mandatory, gives pop quizzes, and many essays (Graded harshly too). Required 3 books. Weekly quizzes were open note but difficult and were fill in the bank :(
I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of more enjoyable and coherent alternatives to taking this course. While I can't deny that he's smart and thoughtful, he assigns readings that are dense and thematically exclusive to this course (as opposed to literally any other source of information), as well as essays that don't meet realistic expectations.
He is super nice but his lectures are difficult to understand sometimes since he talks a lot and is also a bit of a harsh grader when it comes to the papers he is a very nice person and if you email him he responds. And gives extensions.
Lectures were hard to understand, he takes attendance at the end of each lecture for credit. He's understanding of emergencies and will give extensions, but there was a lot of reading, the midterm was super difficult, and both essays had to be at least 5 pages. He had a surprise essay at the end of the midterm. Overall, not worth it, don't take
He is very understanding, and gives extensions if you need them. I highly recommend you take this class, since there is no final exam its just a midterm, and 2 essays.
go to lecture theyre very informative! he gives 1 in class exam and 2 take home essays. read the books he assigns and you'll be good :) he offers 1 24 hour extension as well
"Professor" Busacca lacks professorial status, which is evident in his poor lectures. He insists on attendance, berates headphone-wearers, and his opinion-driven lectures are baffling and neglectful of student needs. Easily the department's weakest link, he should be replaced!
Lecture heavy and he speaks over the slides which can be very unclear. I didnt like it and it was hard to follow. There are weekly quizzes which are helpful to your grade but the essays and tests were not easy.
honestly i'm surprised to see the bad ratings bc i don't think he is as bad as what ppl say. i'll admit i wasn't sure how to study on the midterm, but with the essays, i found that he graded pretty fairly and he wasn't unaccommodating. just do the readings and the work.
Course content drawn from three books (~200 pages each). Two papers, weekly quizzes on reading, challenging midterm and final. Will be difficult to pass if you don't read the books closely and attend lecture. Attendance taken via a code word at end of class. Recommend if you're interested in the material- it's a lot, but doable.
his face says it all. this guy is a weeder class… for college.its a lower division class meant to destroy freshmen. i took upper division classes , rhis is one of the hardest classes i took. avoid to save gpa. it's cause the professor is not clear on grade criteria , teaching, and is wishy washy on grading scale
the worst professor at ucr, takes his intro classes wayyyy too seriously
Bad teacher, slightly passive aggressive, wasn't prepped for our class(tbf he was a sub but wasn't great at it), would always go off on tangents that weren't important. Constantly gave us information at the last minute.
He is not that bad at all but he is quite funny and gives very unique perspectives thinking and huge depth analysis of political science topics. There are weekly quizzes, and 3 essays that are worth a lot of points so take them seriously also at the end of class we had to do polls everywhere as an attendance point so overall it was a great class
Professor Busacca's classes are very informative and book heavy. I've taken both lower and upper div classes with him, and from my experience he is very lenient. His essays are book-based, and attending lectures are very helpful. Overall a great professor. As long as you put in the effort, you'll be fine.
Lectures were interesting, books we read I enjoyed but WAY too much reading, professor felt unorganized and the quizzes on the reading were often confusing. Lecture attendance codes (sometimes 2 codes per class) Professor was passionate
Most disorganized class I've ever taken. The syllabus was useless after day 1 because readings changed week to week. Weekly quizzes asked vague questions. No feedback given on essays which makes grading seem entirely arbitrary. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
I remembered him randomly but is so bad I had to leave a review I TOOK him during beginning of the COVID PANDEMIC, He's a weeder PROF(not COURSE, PROF) for no reason. Itook UD STEM/POSC classes that were easier. He was very ambiguous, ruthless, and uncaring when the entire world was in chaos because of Covid, that's all you need to know about him.
If I could, I would give Busacca a zero. RIP posc majors. He is the WORST professor I have ever had in my entire college experience. I have taken two classes with him, and they have always been a nightmare. All he does is copy content from other classes and other professors because he is too lazy to make up his own coursework.
Its 12 am. I problably took this class 3-4 years ago. Just like a comment below I randomly remembered how horrible this dude waw. He is the WORST PROFESSOR I have ever had. I have no idea why UCR has not fired him. He is the opposite of every proffesor on campus. I ended up picking up stem for grad school. Nothing compares to this mf.
Great class
I would drive without a seatbelt to class. Other than that, you have to put ALOT of work and effort for his classes. Also very understanding and accommodating for the most part, wouldn't take again though.
I don't understand the general lack of appreciation for this professor, but in my opinion, he exemplified dedication to his role as professor and approached every lecture with passion and a sense of urgency on materials taught. He is approachable, very generous in terms of late work and lectures in a receptive way.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
98%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.03 avg changeRatings by Course
POSC108
4.8
(4)POSC169
3.9
(7)POS125
3.7
(3)POSC123
3.6
(5)POSC125
3.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
posc157
4.7
POSC130
4.6
POSC017
4.4
POS125
4.3
POSC015
4.1